What does the Lord mean when he says, ‘All who came before me are thieves and robbers’ (John 10:8)? Does this refer to those who previously claimed to be shepherds in Israel?

This text is from a transcript of a talk by David Gooding, entitled ‘Four Journeys to Jerusalem’ (2009).

Our difficulty is when he says, 'All who came before me are thieves and robbers', whereas there were many true shepherds in Israel. David was one, and the true prophets were others. It may mean therefore, 'all that came, claiming to be Messiahs, were thieves and robbers.' There had been some, even before Christ, who had risen up and claimed to be Messiah. And when you are thinking of shepherds, you are thinking also of political leaders. Some had tried to lead the Jews against the Romans, and it had led to massacre. So, 'All that came before me, claiming to be the Messiah, were thieves and robbers, but the true sheep didn't hear them.' A lot of the others did, but they were not his sheep, of course, and didn't follow them.

It may be that. Or it may be that this is a Semitic phrase. Their use of the term 'all' is not always the same as ours in English. There were false shepherds amongst the people of Israel. Ezekiel accuses many of the leaders of being false shepherds, and it may be that our Lord is referring to some of them. But strictly in the context, I think it must mean: 'they who came before me, claiming to be Messiahs.'